Drift

DeFi

April

Spark

<ul>
 <li>DeFi suffered about $13B in outflows in April after major hacks cut TVL by 10.7% to $82.7B.</li>
 <li>Exploits totaling $635M, led by Drift and KelpDAO, triggered sharp liquidity withdrawals across protocols.</li>
 <li>Rising leverage to ~38% reflects shrinking collateral rather than increased borrowing demand in DeFi markets.</li>
</ul>
<p>Decentralized finance saw major withdrawals in April with major protocol <a href="https://x.com/BinanceResearch/status/2066672730335048094?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">exploits</a> triggered roughly $13 billion in outflows, according to Binance Research. The liquidity drain pushed the on-chain leverage ratio to about 38%, matching levels last seen in 2021, as total value locked fell faster than outstanding borrowing across DeFi platforms.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-april-hacks-spark-massive-liquidity-flight-strong"><strong>April Hacks Spark Massive Liquidity Flight</strong></h2>
<p>According to <a href="https://cryptofrontnews.com/binance-ai-shields-users-from-10b-fraud-wave-report-now/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Binance Research</a>, April became one of the most disruptive months for DeFi security incidents in recent years. The research arm reported that total value locked across DeFi protocols dropped 10.7% month over month to $82.7 billion.</p>
<p>At the same time, protocols recorded about $635.24 million in exploit-related losses. Binance Research said this marked the highest monthly loss figure since the Bybit incident in February 2025.</p>
<p>As liquidity left protocols, leverage metrics moved sharply higher. However, Binance Research noted that the increase did not reflect renewed borrowing demand. Instead, shrinking collateral across the ecosystem pushed the leverage ratio upward.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-drift-and-kelpdao-led-april-losses-strong"><strong>Drift And KelpDAO Led April Losses</strong></h2>
<p>The largest incidents involved Drift Protocol and <a href="https://cryptofrontnews.com/kelpdao-blames-layerzero-in-300m-bridge-fallout/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">KelpDAO</a>. Reports cited losses of roughly $285 million and $292 million, respectively. Together, the two attacks accounted for most of April’s exploit-related damage.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Earlier reports also linked the incidents to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Notably, Binance Research highlighted that modern DeFi risks extend beyond smart contract vulnerabilities.&nbsp; Recent incidents involved social engineering, compromised systems, governance weaknesses, and bridge infrastructure failures.</p>
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<p>As those events unfolded, users rapidly withdrew funds from lending markets and yield-generating protocols. Consequently, liquidity contracted across multiple blockchain ecosystems.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-borrowing-holds-while-tvl-contracts-strong"><strong>Borrowing Holds While TVL Contracts</strong></h2>
<p>While capital exited the sector, outstanding borrowing remained comparatively stable. According to Binance Research, this imbalance caused leverage to rise because debt levels declined more slowly than deposits.</p>
<p>The firm stated that meaningful deleveraging has not yet emerged despite the broader cryptocurrency market pullback. As a result, leverage remains elevated against a smaller collateral base.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, some lending segments continued expanding. Binance Research noted that vault-style lending structures now account for nearly one-quarter of <a href="https://cryptofrontnews.com/aave-v4-review-highlights-new-approach-to-defi-risk/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">DeFi</a> borrowing, up from almost zero in 2024.</p>
<p>Even so, April’s events highlighted how security incidents can quickly affect liquidity, lending activity, and leverage conditions across interconnected DeFi markets.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cryptofrontnews.com/binance-research-flags-13b-defi-outflows-after-april-hacks/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Binance Research Flags $13B DeFi Outflows After April Hacks</a> appears on <a href="https://cryptofrontnews.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Crypto Front News</a>. Visit our website to read more interesting articles about cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and digital assets.</p>

Binance Research Flags $13B DeFi Outflows After April Hacks

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